Matt Luff (born May 5, 1997) is a Canadian professional ice hockey winger who is currently playing with the Springfield Thunderbirds in the American Hockey League (AHL). Undrafted, he has played for the Los Angeles Kings, Nashville Predators, and the Detroit Red Wings.
| Matt Luff | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Luff with the Hamilton Bulldogs | |||
| Born |
May 5, 1997 Oakville, Ontario, Canada | ||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (188 cm) | ||
| Weight | 190 lb (86 kg; 13 st 8 lb) | ||
| Position | Right wing | ||
| Shoots | Right | ||
| AHL team Former teams |
Springfield Thunderbirds Los Angeles Kings Nashville Predators Detroit Red Wings | ||
| NHL draft | Undrafted | ||
| Playing career | 2017–present | ||
Playing career
editAmateur
editComing off a successful season with the Oakville Rangers Midget AAA, Luff split his time between the Rangers and the Oakville Blades of the Ontario Junior Hockey League for the 2013–14 season. On June 9, 2014, Luff signed a contract with the Blades for the 2014–15 season,[1] however he chose to commit to the Belleville Bulls of the Ontario Hockey League who had drafted him in the OHL Draft.[2] In his rookie year with the Bulls, Luff was named a finalist for the Rookie of the Year,[3] with the award eventually going to Alex DeBrincat. Following the 2014–15 season, the Bulls were renamed the Hamilton Bulldogs.
Professional
editLos Angeles Kings
editAfter going undrafted in the NHL Entry Draft, Luff attended the Los Angeles Kings development and training camp as a free agent. He eventually signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Kings on September 23, 2016,[4] becoming the first Bulldog to sign an NHL contract.[5] Luff returned to the OHL for the 2016–17 season where he played only 45 games due to a shoulder injury and concussion.[6] Despite his shortened season, Luff was reassigned to the Kings American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Ontario Reign on April 7, 2017.[7]
Luff began the 2018–19 season with the Ontario Reign after being assigned there from the Kings training camp.[8] Luff was recalled to the NHL on November 3, 2018,[9] and he made his NHL debut that night against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Luff played 9:43 in his debut to help the Kings win 4–1 over the Blue Jackets.[10] After playing in three games, Luff was reassigned to the Ontario Reign on November 11[11] only to be recalled three days later on November 14.[12] Luff recorded his first career NHL goal in a 2–0 win over the St. Louis Blues on November 19.[13] On November 25, in a 5–2 win over the Edmonton Oilers, Luff recorded his fourth goal in the same number of games, becoming the fifth Kings rookie to do so since Jimmy Carson in 1987.[14] His streak ended the following game against the Vancouver Canucks.[15]
After appearing in 30 games for the Kings, and recording 10 points, Luff was reassigned to the Ontario Reign on February 8, 2019.[16]
Nashville Predators
editLuff played for five years within the Los Angeles Kings organization before leaving as a free agent following the 2020–21 season. He was signed to a one-year, two-way contract with the Nashville Predators on July 28, 2021.[17]
Detroit Red Wings
editOn July 13, 2022, Luff signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Detroit Red Wings.[18] During the 2022–23 season, he recorded two goals and two assists in 19 games with the Red Wings, and eight goals and 17 assists in 28 games for the Grand Rapids Griffins of the AHL. On July 1, 2023, Luff signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Red Wings.[19]
Following two seasons within the Red Wings organization, Luff left as a free agent and was un-signed over the summer. On September 11, 2024, Luff accepted an invitation to attend the Florida Panthers training camp for the 2024–25 season on a professional tryout.[20] On September 30, Luff was released from the PTO after failing to make the team. After being released, he joined the AHL Charlotte Checkers training camp on a tryout basis.[21] Luff began the season with the Checkers, contributing with 2 goals and 4 points through 6 games before he was released from his PTO to sign a one-year contract with fellow AHL club, the Springfield Thunderbirds, the primary affiliate to the St. Louis Blues on November 7, 2024.[22]
Career statistics
edit| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2013–14 | Oakville Blades | OJHL | 10 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | Belleville Bulls | OHL | 64 | 9 | 22 | 31 | 20 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 2015–16 | Hamilton Bulldogs | OHL | 61 | 27 | 30 | 57 | 43 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2016–17 | Hamilton Bulldogs | OHL | 45 | 25 | 24 | 49 | 33 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 4 | ||
| 2016–17 | Ontario Reign | AHL | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2017–18 | Ontario Reign | AHL | 67 | 12 | 17 | 29 | 42 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 2018–19 | Ontario Reign | AHL | 36 | 11 | 20 | 31 | 32 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2018–19 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 33 | 8 | 3 | 11 | 9 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2019–20 | Ontario Reign | AHL | 30 | 9 | 15 | 24 | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2019–20 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 18 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2020–21 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 13 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2020–21 | Ontario Reign | AHL | 4 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2021–22 | Milwaukee Admirals | AHL | 30 | 14 | 17 | 31 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2021–22 | Nashville Predators | NHL | 23 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2022–23 | Grand Rapids Griffins | AHL | 28 | 8 | 17 | 25 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2022–23 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 19 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2023–24 | Grand Rapids Griffins | AHL | 26 | 10 | 8 | 18 | 18 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 2024–25 | Charlotte Checkers | AHL | 6 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 106 | 15 | 12 | 27 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
References
edit- ^ "Oakville Announces Six Signings For Upcoming OJHL Season". oakvilleblades.pointstreaksites.com. June 9, 2014. Retrieved December 12, 2018.
- ^ "Matt Luff commits to Bulls". ontariohockeyleague.com. September 2, 2014. Retrieved November 4, 2018.
- ^ "OHL Announces 2014-15 Award Finalists". attackhockey.com. March 25, 2015. Retrieved November 4, 2018.
- ^ "Bulldogs' Luff signs with Kings". ontariohockeyleague.com. September 23, 2016. Retrieved November 4, 2018.
- ^ Pecoskie, Teri (September 23, 2016). "Forward Matt Luff is the first Hamilton Bulldog to sign an NHL contract — an entry-level deal with the L.A. Kings". The Hamilton Spectator. Retrieved November 4, 2018.
Although defenceman Cole Candella was drafted by the Vancouver Canucks in June, Luff is the first Bulldogs player to actually sign an NHL contract
- ^ Pecoskie, Teri (November 28, 2018). "Matt Luff is loving the NHL life". Retrieved December 12, 2018.
- ^ "KINGS ASSIGN FORWARD MATT LUFF TO REIGN". ontarioreign.com. April 7, 2017. Retrieved November 4, 2018.
- ^ "ONTARIO REIGN TRAINING CAMP ROSTER MOVES". ontarioreign.com. September 22, 2018. Retrieved November 16, 2018.
- ^ "NOVEMBER 3: ROSTER MOVES COMING; LUFF TO DEBUT; HOCKEY NIGHT IN LOS ANGELES". ontarioreign.com. November 3, 2018. Retrieved November 4, 2018.
- ^ Greenspan, Dan (November 4, 2018). "Kings use special teams to power past Blue Jackets". NHL.com. Retrieved November 4, 2018.
- ^ "REIGN ANNOUNCE ROSTER MOVES". ontarioreign.com. November 11, 2018. Retrieved November 13, 2018.
- ^ "MATT LUFF RECALLED BY KINGS". ontarioreign.com. November 14, 2018. Retrieved November 16, 2018.
- ^ Korac, Louie (November 19, 2018). "Petersen gets first NHL shutout in Kings win against Blues". NHL.com. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
- ^ Greenspan, Dan (November 26, 2018). "Brown's hat trick helps Kings down Oilers 5-2". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 29, 2018.[dead link]
- ^ Morales, Robert (November 28, 2018). "Streak aside, Kings rookie Matt Luff never satisfied". Pasadena Star-News. Retrieved November 29, 2018.
- ^ "LA Kings Assign Forward Matt Luff to the Ontario Reign". NHL.com. February 8, 2019. Retrieved February 10, 2019.
- ^ "Predators sign Matt Luff to one-year, two-way contract". Nashville Predators. July 28, 2021. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
- ^ Roth, Thomas (July 13, 2022). "Red Wings sign Austin Czarnik and Matt Luff". Detroit Red Wings. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
- ^ DiFilippo, Alex (July 1, 2023). "Red Wings sign Klim Kostin; re-sign Matt Luff and Gustav Lindstrom". NHL.com. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
- ^ "Panthers sign forward Matt Luff to PTO". The Hockey News. September 11, 2024. Retrieved September 11, 2024.
- ^ "Matt Luff: Cut loose from PTO". CBS Sports. September 30, 2024. Retrieved September 30, 2024.
- ^ "T-Birds sign Matt Luff to AHL contract". Springfield Thunderbirds. November 7, 2024. Retrieved November 7, 2024.
External links
edit- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database